<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bed and Breakfast by MFM</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23172964">Bed and Breakfast</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MFM/pseuds/MFM'>MFM</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Show By Rock!! - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Sleeping Together, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Watching Someone Sleep</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:29:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23172964</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MFM/pseuds/MFM</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Himeko dotes on a sleeping Howan.</p>
<p>A not-actually-sleeping Howan catches her in the act and turns the tables.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mashima Himeko/Howan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bed and Breakfast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mashima Himeko hummed to herself in the silence of her room. Though the everpresent neon lights of Midi City shone as bright as ever right outside the dwelling, her closed curtains left her less than privy to them. Instead the only light source allowed to her was the dim light of the lamp on her desk, and although she dedicated most of her waking moments to the song she was currently writing, she couldn’t help but steal the occasional glance over her shoulder.</p>
<p>The object dividing her attention was none other than Howan, who slept away without a care in the world. The namesake of Mashumairesh had turned this pattern into a way to keep herself motivated through the dreary hours of the night, the beaming visage of her bandmate enough to inspire her to fill pages of lyrics at a time. The thought had occurred to her that there were better times than the dead of night for brainstorming songs, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t find solace in the calm only offered at midnight.</p>
<p>The thought had also occurred to her that her brainstorming would be more productive if she expressed her affection for Howan more frankly, but no never not in a million years. The mere idea of being that forthright caused red to creep up her face, never mind finding the perfect way to put those feelings into words because if she didn’t do it perfectly what was even the point. Sure they had shared a few intimate moments already and Howan probably felt the same way but she could never be too sure about that kind of thing. And that wasn’t even to mention that they were already living together and how the whole situation would become even more unbearably awkward if–</p>
<p>A groan echoing throughout the room derailed Himeko’s runaway train of thought, and she had to restrain herself from yelping out in surprise. She stole one more glance across her living space and was relieved to discover that the source of the noise was in fact Howan, rather than some horrifying otherworldly apparition. The vocalization had merely been an expression of her exertion as she stretched her body out straight as an arrow. That expression caused Himeko’s eyes to linger on the fox girl a while longer than usual, even if she returned to her usual sleeping position within the next moment.</p>
<p>For a second, the guitarist tried to talk herself down from worrying over nothing; it was just a stretch, why would that possibly mean she wasn’t sleeping well? But in her heart of hearts she unfortunately knew that worrying over nothing was what she did best, and so she slowly rose from her chair. She waded across the room, taking each step with agonizing deliberation as if the next would be the one to set off a landmine. Thankfully her memory hadn’t failed her, for if her safe traversal of the floor was any indication, she hadn’t set any such explosives.</p>
<p>Kneeling next to Howan, the blonde first tentatively brushed her fingers along her crush’s bangs. A giggle escaped the pink-haired girl’s lips as a response, and Himeko could not withdraw her hand fast enough. Or rather her gut instinct was to do so, but she managed to stop herself halfway, leaving her arm awkwardly floating in empty air as she waited for Howan’s next move.</p>
<p>Howan’s next move was to return to peaceful slumber, and so once more Himeko moved in for the kill. Again she swatted at the other girl’s fringe, and she took the lack of reaction this time as an invitation to continue. She didn’t keep track of how long she did that for, but it was long enough that after a point she forgot why she’d started doing it. Instead she settled for using it as an excuse to idle away the wee hours of the night looking at the girl she loved.</p>
<p>After doing so for long enough she tired of sitting up while doing it, and so she shifted onto her side, lying down next to the sleeping beauty. Besides being more comfortable, another upside to this change in position was the better view it lent her of Howan’s smiling face. She felt she would be content with just staring at that smile for hours on end, and any playing with her crush’s features she did was just a bit of an added benefit. Once more she reached out to feel the girl’s hair, though she stopped just short.</p>
<p>She did not stop of her own volition however; rather, being pulled into a sudden embrace foiled her efforts. It took the blonde a few moments to process the situation she now found herself in, and a few more to realize it was Howan who had pulled her into it. The instant she realized crimson flared across her whole body, and her attempts to formulate any coherent response left her a stammering mess. So overwhelmed was she by this display of affection that she didn’t even notice the pink-haired girl’s smile widening or that she had opened one eye ever so slightly.</p>
<p>At least, she didn’t notice until Howan let slip a giggle as she cuddled up closer to Himeko. A silence settled between them that lasted a scant few seconds, but that Himeko swore lasted for an eternity. Though she found the quiet comforting, she couldn’t help but shatter it by asking in a whisper, “How long have you been awake for?”</p>
<p>The fox girl giggled once more, her tail swishing all it could under the covers, and she answered, “Since you started playing with my hair. It tickled.”</p>
<p>The blush that had started to die down gained new life, and the embarrassment overtaking Himeko left her physically incapable of looking anywhere near Howan’s radiance. Instead she settled for looking to the ceiling’s pitch blackness as she stated, in the most nonchalant tone she could muster in her current state, “Jeez. You should’ve said something sooner.”</p>
<p>Howan snuggled ever closer, a feat Himeko hadn’t thought possible with how close she already felt, and her ears fidgeted ever so slightly. “But if I did, you wouldn’t have laid down next to me.”</p>
<p>The pleading tone in that statement drew the cat girl’s gaze back down, and although her bedmate’s radiance was blinding, she managed to not avert her eyes as she responded, “I guess you have a point.”</p>
<p>The conversation tapered off after that, the two of them content to enjoy each other’s company and embrace. As they remained in that position slumber started to overtake them both, but as her consciousness started to wander, Himeko couldn’t help but hear Howan make some noise. Sleep-addled though her brain may have been, she could still recognize it as the song she had been humming not long prior. The smallest of smiles crept up her face, and as she was whisked away into sleep, she couldn’t help but hum a bit herself, their duet being the last thing she heard before falling asleep entirely.</p>
<p>––</p>
<p>When Himeko next came to, the first of her senses to fully awaken was her hearing. Her ears twitched in response to sizzling meat and a stove shutting off, and despite how groggy she was, she could make a reasonable guess as to the noise’s origin. Her sense of smell was the next to rouse, and as she sniffed the wafting aroma of a freshly cooked breakfast, her suspicions were confirmed.</p>
<p>As if to remove any shadow of doubt, when her sight caught up to her other senses, the first thing to greet her vision was Howan standing entirely too close with a meal in tow. Her proximity caused the blonde to reflexively lurch back, and though she felt a pang of guilt for doing so, her roommate didn’t seem to mind. Instead she handed her the plate with a grin as ebullient as ever, stating, “I thought you’d be hungry.”</p>
<p>Himeko swallowed her awkwardness long enough to answer with a “Thank you” as she took the dish and started to eat, but she only took a couple bites before realizing she was the only one eating. Glancing back up at Howan, she asked with the most thinly veiled interest possible, “You didn’t make anything for yourself?”</p>
<p>The fox girl raised her hands in front of her face and waved them defensively. “It’s no big deal,” she started, attempting in vain to abet the increasing annoyance on Himeko’s face. “I was more worried about y–“</p>
<p>“C’mon,” her bandmate interrupted, holding a forkful of eggs a few inches from her face and doing an even worse job of feigning disinterest than ever. Howan stared at the offering in confusion for a split second, long enough for Himeko to feel the need to elaborate, “You should eat up, too.”</p>
<p>Almost literally she leapt at the chance, lurching forward to bite the morsel off the fork and swallow it in one motion. She squealed in delight at the fluffiness of the eggs, her tail swishing to and fro to further highlight her exuberance. So entranced was she in the taste of her own cooking that she didn’t notice her roommate’s realization of the intimacy of what she just did and subsequent silent freakout. Instead she just made the freakout worse, albeit (probably) unintentionally by declaring, “I love you, Himeko!”</p>
<p>That outburst stopped Himeko’s thought process dead in its tracks, her face growing blank as her overheating brain desperately attempted to parse the information it just received. Calculations ran a mile a minute as the guitarist attempted to think of every possible response she could give to the exclamation and which would have the smallest chance of causing her to die of embarrassment.</p>
<p>So quickly did her brain attempt to process all this information that for a millisecond she humored saying the most ludicrous, impossible, embarrassing thing she possibly could in that moment. But then that millisecond became half a second, then a full second, then several seconds of prolonged silence. So long did the quiet settle between them that Howan considered the idea she’d spoken out of turn, but her countenance did well in hiding the twinge of regret she felt.</p>
<p>A deep breath from Himeko abetted that underlying dread, for accompanying it was a relieved smile, and following it was a statement of the most ludicrous, impossible, embarrassing thing she could possibly say in that moment, lifting a weight off her shoulders and sending Howan’s mood soaring.</p>
<p>“I love you too, Howan.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow it's been less than half a year since my last fic, and I managed to actually write something for a seasonal anime before it finished airing. That counts as progress right.</p>
<p>I just had to write something for Himeko and Howan because they're so precious and wonderful and I love them so much. Stan Mashumairesh.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>